In terrleben, “erleben”, the German verb “to be alive when something happens”, follows “terre”, the French or Kreole noun for the Earth, also the soil. I have set up this company to muster the courage to live my passion for sustainability courageously and with integrity.
About open mind: system approaches for exploring complex systems
Since the seminal work of Peter Senge and Donella Meadows, system thinking approaches have flourished. We are increasingly aware that we suffer from system blindness. We know that we uncomfortable with indecision and uncertainty and our inclination towards action so high, that we pass over complexity and uncertainty rapidly to get on with the solution. As a result, we often define the system inadequately or inaccurately or not all. We overlook other alternatives or define the problem in terms of a solution. In short, we do a bad job of navigating systems.
'We see our part of the system but the whole; we don't see how all the parts influence one another; we don't see what others worlds are like; we don't see how our world impact theirs and how theirs impact ours' Oshry (2007).
There are many approaches used in system thinking depending on context, problems, and prefered disciplinary method. I have been using the Iceberg approach of connecting events, to patterns of behaviors, systems structures and mental models to build the system. I am using the following tools to build the Iceberg: mental model mapping, participatory issue analysis and theory of change, and companion modelling including the ARDI approach (actor-resource-dynamics and interactions).
These tools help stakeholders: 1) explore system complexity, whilst harnessing current body of evidence; 2) see blind spots in decision-making; 3) navigate known unknowns and; 4) acknowledge unknown unknowns.
About open heart: gaming for strategy and scenario development
The use of games has gained a lot of traction for stakeholder engagement. In the context of sustainability, process-based gaming aims to construct key aspect of complex systems, including patterns of behaviour, power asymmetries, stocks and flows, inherent in socio-ecological systems. Players manipulating these models, discover, learn and integrate the processes and interactions that explain why and how resources change happens and can then use this knowledge to revise their strategies and develop new forms of cooperation, especially when played with real stakeholders.
I use companion modeling as a method for the development of role-playing games (see blogs). Companion modelling is an approach developed in the context of natural resource management (Bousquet et al. 2002).
About open will: mindful facilitation
I am training to become a certified facilitator with the Generative Facilitation Institute. The approach of the Generative Facilitation Institute is cross-disciplinary and deeply rooted in a systemic understanding of change. It draws on some of the best proven facilitation and innovation methodologies, the latest insights and approaches from research, as well as old wisdom traditions. These include Theory U, Systemic Approaches, Generative Coaching, Holistic Change and Innovation Approaches (i.e. World Café, OpenSpace, Appreciative Inquiry, Design Thinking, Agile, Mindfulness and and Embodiment.
About me
I started my career as a field biologist in Mauritius, my native island. I loved being in nature but quickly because unsatisfied with the model of conservation there - conservation in isolation from the local people - so I went abroad to learn. The Seychelles, New Zealand, Madagascar, United Kingdom, Australia, Switzerland and now Germany.
My PhD at the University of Oxford helped me explore the topic of the human-nature conflict in Madagascar in the context of mining and after my PhD, I worked as the conservation coordinator for WWF in Madagascar. Conservation there was not working well despite the best intention. I thought the answer would be in Policy-Science-Policy. Do better science and support policies and the magic will happen.
At that time, WWF International had been setting up a new institute to do exactly this so I thought I had found my next dream job. I discovered that doing sustainability even with policy-science-policy hand-in-hand was still not sufficient. That people were not engaging enough with open heart, mind, and will. Not because they did not want. But perhaps because as scientists, as practitioners, we simply have not been taught approaches how to integrate the open mind, the open heart and the open will. At best, we only engage with the open mind.
Selected references
Bardwell, L.V., 1991. Problem-framing: a perspective on environmental problem-solving. Environmental Management, 15(5), pp.603-612.
Bousquet, F. et al. 2002. Multi-agent systems and role games: collective learning processes for ecosystem management. Complexity and ecosystem management: The theory and practice of multi-agent systems, pp.248-285.
Jones, N., Ross, H., Lynam, T., Perez, P. and Leitch, A., 2011. Mental models: an interdisciplinary synthesis of theory and methods. Ecology and Society, 16(1).
Meadows, D.H., 2008. Thinking in systems: A primer. chelsea green publishing.
Oshry, B., 2007. Seeing systems: Unlocking the mysteries of organizational life. Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
Senge, P.M., 2014. The fifth discipline fieldbook: Strategies and tools for building a learning organization. Crown Business.